What law are you referring to that makes it illegal for pedestrians to walk on the road facing traffic on a road in a business district
RCW 46.61.250 - Where sidewalks are provided and are accessible, it is unlawful for any pedestrian to walk or otherwise move along and upon an adjacent roadway
As for rural cycling, since there are few cyclists in the USA, there's not a lot of crash data, but rural crashes are around 3X likely to result in a fatality than urban crashes.
Data from the UK is easier to find:
Rural roads were also deadlier than those in urban areas, with a total of 140 cyclists dying in 2020 - meaning that fatalities on rural roads accounted for 64 per cent of the overall number.
> Where sidewalks are provided and are accessible, it is unlawful for any pedestrian to walk or otherwise move along and upon an adjacent roadway
A charitable interpretation of my original assertion would be: "all other roads are shared infrastructure that can be legally used by those who are walking" would not include roads where sidewalks are provided and are accessible.
> As for rural cycling, since there are few cyclists in the USA, there's not a lot of crash data
In urban areas, most fatal cyclist related crashes involve wrong way cyclists, cyclists who are not using lights at night, and cyclists who are cycling under the influence of alcohol or other drugs. As for rural crashes, while there are higher speeds involved, riding in a conspicuous manner that ensures that motorists have to slow down and change lanes to pass as opposed to squeezing between you and oncoming traffic can go a long way towards mitigating the risk of being involved in a crash.
RCW 46.61.250 - Where sidewalks are provided and are accessible, it is unlawful for any pedestrian to walk or otherwise move along and upon an adjacent roadway
As for rural cycling, since there are few cyclists in the USA, there's not a lot of crash data, but rural crashes are around 3X likely to result in a fatality than urban crashes.
Data from the UK is easier to find:
Rural roads were also deadlier than those in urban areas, with a total of 140 cyclists dying in 2020 - meaning that fatalities on rural roads accounted for 64 per cent of the overall number.
https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/cyclist-deaths-on-rural-r...